Speeches

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi

Just yesterday i was interviewed by one of Indonesias magazine and the topic of
South China Sea was raised. This morning i was also interviewed by one of
Indonesias TV Channels and again the issue of South China Sea came up.
Why so much attention on the issue of South China Sea. Because the
international community is watching. Because they are concerned.
Stability is a conditio sine qua non to development. Imagine if open conflict
does break out in the South China Sea. Imagine if open war erupts between
our very neighbors. Imagine if your family are onboard a plane over South China
Sea while chaos and open fires are present in the area. Global trade route will be
at risk. Freedom of navigation will be at risk. People will no longer recognize the
sea as South China Sea they will know it as Sea of Troubles.
Therefore in light of this context, I believe it is opportune to discuss three main
points that I deem important:

The Strategic Importance of the South China Sea or Why the South China
Sea Matters

Indonesias Approach in the South China Sea

The Way Forward

The South China Sea (SCS) dispute is a series of complex and overlapping set of
claims between China and several ASEAN Member States. These overlapping
claims, make the South China Sea one of the most potential conflict area in the
world.
On the other hand, the South China Sea is also the vein of modern global trade
and the pulse of the livelihood of people from all walks of life. The South China
Sea carries more than 40% of all world trade. It connects the two great Oceans
the Pacific and Indian Ocean. It is one of the bussiest shipping lanes in the
world. It was estimated that half of the world global oil tanker shipment and
a third of all maritime traffic worldwide passes through its lanes.
The South China Sea is also rich in natural resources, particularly oil and gas, fish
stock and marine biodiversity, even though the estimation varies from one
source to another.
The quest to find a concerted solution for the South China Sea has been
the pinnacle question for many years. The question now, however, what role
does Indonesia play? Some perceive Indonesia as a crucial facilitator, a go
between, and mediator for the South China Sea dispute.
President Joko Widodo, in many opportunities, reaffirmed Indonesias role to act
as an honest broker in the South China Sea dispute. There are at least two ways
to explain what this actually means. First, Indonesia is and has never been a
claimant state. Second, Indonesia remains committed and will continue to strive
for the early conclusion of the the Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea.
Why? Because thirteen years after it was first proposed, the document is still
under intense debate and discussion. This is not good. However, this is not to
say that the prospect of negotiations at the ASEAN mechanism are bleak. In fact,
allow me to underscore some achievements.

In 2011, ASEAN and China agreed on the Guidelines on the Implementation of

the DOC. With regard to the COC, both ASEAN and China have agreed on the
3+1 formula as the basis of the negotiations for the COC.
The formula offers three elements and one objective:

Promoting confidence

Preventing incidents

Managing incidents

Plus the objective of creating conditions conducive through early harvest

achievements.

The COC is by no means designed to resolve territorial claims in the South China
Sea. The purpose of the COC is among others is to encourage claimant parties to
excercise maximum self- restraint without resorting to the use of threat or force.
Now both ASEAN and China are working on finding areas of convergence based
on the commonalities that ASEAN have agreed upon. We all need to expedite
the process on agreeing on the final outcome of the COC
At the informal level, there have been series of workshops/seminars dedicated
to enhance cooperation between ASEAN and China to, for instance, identify
possible joint activities. Ones like this very workshop.
As a maritime nation, an archipelagic state, and a nation between two oceans,
Indonesia prioritizes maritime issues at the heart of our diplomacy. Our idea of
Maritime Fulcrum is to invite all partners to work together in maritime sector.
The five pillars of Maritime Fulcrum, such as maritime cultures, maritime
infrastructures, maritime resources development, maritime diplomacy, and
maritime security, has redefined our perspective to perceive the sea as windows
of opportunity. Not the other way around.
Through this vision, we will seek support from regional and international
partners to develop the maritime sector. We will work with our friends to
eliminate sources of maritime conflicts such as IUU fishing, breach of
sovereignty, territorial disputes, and environmental damages to the sea.
We will also work with our partners to manage and seek solution to the territorial
and maritime disputes in the region. We will play an active role in promote peace
and bring stability in the region. Hence, in this juncture, I would like to offer you
some elements of discussion that might be of use in the workshop today.
First, is the possibility of having joint cooperation activities in the South China
Sea. Second, the possibility of having an international instrument to address the
issue of safety of navigation and air space regime in and over the South China
Sea. Third, in the process of finalizing the COC, could the creation of a
Hotline between Leaders of ASEAN Member States and concerned parties be a
viable mechanism to relieve tensions? These three elements are some of my
thoughts on how can we manage the issue of South China Sea.
The promotion of peace and stability is a prime requisite for a more prosperous
region. Managing the potentials of conflicts in the South China Sea is crucial to
ensure regional stability as well as economic development. However, it is also
equally important. to convert the potential of tensions into opportunities for
mutually beneficial collaborations. I hope you all will enjoy a fruitful discussion.

ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh

I thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and the Centre for
Southeast Asian Studies for inviting me to this conference on a topic that is of
paramount significance to not only ASEAN but the whole Asia-Pacific region and
the world at large.
Managing the South China Sea disputes has for long been a topic of tremendous
attention and discussion among both the academic circles and policy makers. It
is self-evident that the magnitude and gravity of the challenges that are looming
large in the South China Sea have commanded growing international attention
and concern.
Occupying a large part of the Southeast Asian maritime domain and
straddling between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea,
with its abundant natural resources and strategic position, is of great
importance to countries in the region and beyond in both economic and
security terms.
The territorial and maritime jurisdiction disputes in the South China Sea, while
directly concerning the claimant States, should be perceived in the larger
context of peace, stability, maritime security and prosperity which are the
common interest and legitimate concern of all nations.
The on-going developments stand to undermine peace, stability and maritime
security in the region. The potential of conflicts in the South China Sea has never
been so alarming due to the negative trending of unilateral assertive actions and
the growing risk of miscalculations. The situation has become all the more
complex in a shifting regional landscape characterized by geo-strategic
competition among major powers.
ASEAN especially has a key interest and significant role in preserving peace and
stability in the South China Sea since there is an intimate linkage between a
peaceful Southeast Asia and a prosperous ASEAN. Without peace, be it on land or
at sea, as the bedrock for pushing forward regional integration, the ASEAN
Community project could not be sustained.
The South China Sea is also a litmus test of ASEANs centrality due to its
significant impacts on the credibility of ASEAN-led norms and mechanisms that
are being at the core of the regional security architecture. In fact, managing
effectively regional flashpoints, especially the South China Sea disputes, is an
important dimension of ASEAN Centrality amidst the changing geo-strategic
landscape in the Asia-Pacific.
In striving and sparing no efforts to preserve peace and stability in the South
China Sea, ASEAN has been pursuing its long-standing position that territorial
disputes in the South China Sea should be settled by peaceful means, without
resorting to the threat or use of force, in accordance with international law,
including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
This position has been crystallized in ASEANs Six-Point Principles on the
South China Sea adopted in 2012.
Consisting of nothing other than most fundamental principles of international
relations, ASEANs Six- Point Principles constitute the basis for ASEAN to sustain
its engagement with China on the South China Sea issue in two key fronts,
namely the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in

the South China Sea (DOC), and the negotiations towards early conclusion of
a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).
Concluded in 2002, the DOC is a milestone document governing the conduct of
ASEAN Member States and China in the South China Sea. The DOC sets
out the fundamental principles for peace, stability and maritime security in the
South China Sea, including peaceful settlement of disputes without resorting to
the threat or use of force, in accordance with international law, including the
1982 UNCLOS.
The DOC also lays down the norms of behaviour for parties in the South
China Sea, particularly self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would
complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability. Furthermore,
the DOC provides a platform for ASEAN-China cooperative projects and activities
in maritime functional areas such as environmental protection, safety of
navigation and communication at sea, search and rescue operation, and
combating transnational crime.
Implementation of joint cooperative activities, however, has been very limited
since it could only be pursued in clearly identified disputed areas, in accordance
with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS. The ambiguous nature and
extensive extent of some territorial claims in the South China Sea, especially the
Nine-Dash Line, are making the identification of disputed areas for joint
cooperation all the more challenging.
Presently, ASEAN and China are exploring more action-oriented activities in
practical areas of common interest and concern. A number of early-harvest
measures have been agreed upon and are being operationalized, including the
establishment of Hotline Communications on Search and Rescue between
ASEAN Member States and China, Hotline Communications in Response to
Maritime Emergencies, and a Table-top Exercise on Joint Search and Rescue.
In parallel with the implementation of the DOC, since 2013 ASEAN has been
actively engaging China in consultations on the COC. Last year alone, ASEAN was
able to engage China in two COC consultations at the senior official level and
three consultations at the working group level. The frequency of meetings will be
increased with two more rounds of consultations to be held next month in
Malaysia.
However, it is the quality of the talks that matters. The focus so far has been
more on the process than on the substance. Although both sides have come up
with the First List of Commonalities and work is underway to develop the Second
List, the necessity to accumulate commonalities cannot disregard the most
important need to discuss frankly and constructively issues where both sides
still have divergent views.
In the context of the prolonging serious and dangerous situation at sea, ASEAN
has repeatedly stressed the need for both sides to agree on a concrete timeline
for substantive negotiations on the structure and elements of the COC. At the
same time, in both the implementation of the DOC and the consultations on
the COC, we are finding a widening gap between the diplomatic track and the
actual developments.
ASEAN and China have had the DOC for 13 years and have engaged in
COC consultations for three years, and yet, the South China Sea waters have
never been really still, especially in recent years, when we have continued to
witness incidents endangering peace, stability, maritime security, commercial
activities, and freedom of navigation such as Chinas placement of an oil rig in

an area that it, in no way conforming to international law, especially the

UNCLOS, can justify its territorial and jurisdictional claims and the massive
reclamation and the construction on features it occupied and the fact that the
facilities on these features could be used for military purposes.
In the face of those dangerous developments, ASEAN has come out with
collective response, upholding ASEANs unity and credibility in our shared
commitment and efforts to preserve peace, stability and maritime security in
the South China Sea. Last year, when China placed its oil rig, the ASEAN
Foreign Ministers for the first time since 1995 issued a collective statement
which expressed their serious concerns and urged all parties concerned to
exercise self- restraint and avoid actions which could undermine peace and
stability in the region.
Most recently, at the 26 ASEAN Summit last April, with reports by affected
Member States on the destabilizing activities and the massive reclamation and
the construction on occupied features and the fact that the facilities on these
features could be used for military purposes, ASEAN Leaders expressed serious
concerns that these had eroded trust and confidence, and may undermine
peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.
ASEAN then called for implementation of the DOC in its entirety, especially
Article 5, which calls for all concerned parties to exercise self-restraint in the
conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace
and stability. ASEAN also called for the intensification of COC negotiations so as
to expedite the early conclusion of the COC.
A real grave concern is that the massive land reclamation and construction
activities taking place are changing the status-quo, further complicating the
disputes by changing the character of the features, create a fait-accompli while
the COC process is still on-going without any definite timeline, and upsetting
the balance of power in the region.
These activities run contrary to the provisions, especially Article 5, of the DOC
on self-restraint and no change of status-quo, and could render the COC
irrelevant if the diplomatic track fails to address the situation on the ground in a
timely and effective manner.
In this context, it is all the more imperative that both ASEAN and China step
up efforts to pursue the full and effective implementation of the DOC in its
entirety. Such implementation should include not only practical cooperation and
confidence building measures but also faithful adherence to the principles and
norms as provided in Article 5 of the DOC.
Such implementation should be pursued in more concrete and operational terms,
such as developing the dos and donts lists to promote actions in conformity
with the DOC and prevent destabilizing acts in violation of the DOC.
The above-mentioned developments also heavily underscore the need to speed
up negotiations on the COC with a view to achieving its early conclusion. The
COC should be a comprehensive and legally binding instrument to govern the
conduct and behavior in the South China Sea with a view to preventing,
managing and resolving incidents, and helping create a favorable environment
for a comprehensive and durable settlement of disputes in the South China Sea.
The development of the COC should proceed in parallel with the implementation
of the DOC since these are two mutually reinforcing processes. The COC
should build upon the DOC, but be upgraded in terms of both political
commitment and legal status.

While not taking side on the merits of territorial claims in the South China Sea,
ASEAN appeals for the supremacy of the rule of law in the search for a
sustainable and comprehensive solution to the current disputes in the South
China Sea. The rule of law would dictate that claimant States should bring their
claims into conformity with international law, particularly the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The rule of law would exclude the use of force, coercion, or other actions
that raise tensions in the region or change the status quo. The rule of law would
be a great equalizer in ensuring that the eventualities to these disputes would be
determined by international law rather than the accumulation of sand wherever
it may be brought from.
ASEAN Member States are bound by the ASEAN Charter to a
shared
commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security
and prosperity. ASEAN unity and ASEAN centrality will continue to imbue its
engagement with China to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Addressing this sensitive and complex issue in an effective, constructive and
peaceful manner is also a telling measure of the maturity of the ASEAN- China
Strategic Partnership.
Turning away from it will not resolve the issue. A shared destiny among nations
could not be sustained by coercion or unilateral actions. Every nation has the
legitimate right to rise and realize its dream, but that should not be done at the
expense of the chance of other nations to thrive and pursue their legitimate
interests.
As ASEAN continues to proactively engage with China to maintain peace and
stability in the South China Sea, we welcome constructive contributions from the
academe and think-tanks. In that spirit, I wish success to the Conference. Thank
you.
Marine and Fishery Minister Susi Pudjiastuti
Good evening and welcome to Jakarta in this High Level International Workshop
on Managing
South China Sea Conflict from ASEAN Perspective.
The existence of the South China Sea territory is very important, and very crucial
to be addressed. There are many aspects to the issue. Whether it is about the
jurisdiction, legal aspects, social aspects, and historical aspects. I believe that
the parties involved in the South China Sea conflict need to clarify and be
specific about their claims. For example, if it is based on historical claims, how
far and how long can history go?
The issue needs to be addressed together, regionally. If we were to resolve the
issue bilaterally, it will take several bilateral meetings that will take too long as
it involves too many countries directly: China, the Philippines, Viet Nam, Brunei,
and Malaysia. Not to mention that there are other indirectly affected parties,
including Singapore, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and even US and Japan.
Non-dispute countries should not increase the tension but need to be careful.
Indonesia for example, has no dispute in the South China Sea initially. However,
the 9-Dot-Line will affect Indonesias Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). China
unofficially informed there is no problem with this matter. Even without the
dispute, one of our fishing patrol boats a few years back tried to apprehend a
vessel suspected of illegal fishing near the waters of Natuna, close to the South

China Sea. When the patrol boats chased the vessel, a warship with the same
flag of that fishing vessel stopped them.
The current situation is indeed not conducive. Thus, what I would like to
emphasize is that we need to be mindful that the South China Sea is an
important marine resource. We believe on the notion of One World, One Ocean.
Therefore, the South China Sea is an important marine resource not only for the
surrounding countries, but for the rest of the world as well.
If we were to go back to the UNCLOS 1982 agreement, particularly Article 122
and 123 of Part 9, the dialogues on the South China Sea should be revolved
around cooperation and coordination of policies of marine living resources,
the conduct of marine scientific research, and the protection of marine
environment, and at the same time, as appropriate, inviting other interested
parties or organizations to cooperate with them.
It should also be noted that Part 12 of UNCLOS 1982 on Protection and
Preservation of the Marine Environment also stipulates obligation of states to
protect and preserve the marine environment in article 192, despite their
sovereign rights to exploit their natural resources in article 193. In addition,
Article 197 also stipulates that states shall cooperate on a global and, as
appropriate, on a regional basis, to protect and preserve the marine
environment.
China in this matter cannot claim on their part that the development of the South
China Sea is for their economic interests only. Once their economic interests
sets in, it will drag the military guards in the territory as a security
consequences of the commercialization of the area. It is therefore not
appropriate for one country to do claim development of a territory under dispute,
especially if it has important social and economic impact of the countries
surrounding it. In no way China should continue constructing airstrips and sand
walls or even further commercialization of the islands in dispute. Not only it
aggravates the political tension, it also disrupts the health of the ocean
ecosystem of the surrounding area.
It is crucial to maintain and promote peace, stability and development in the
area of the South China Sea, and that the rule of law should be developed,
established, and respected by all, and
that the military engagement and other hostile act should be avoided as
effectively as possible, perhaps by developing some rules of engagement
between the law enforcement as well as the military authorities in the South
China Sea area.
I also believe bigger countries in the region should be mindful of the views of
their smaller neighbors. The bigger countries should be careful so that they are
not perceived to be dominating or bullying their smaller neighbors. Thank you.